Sarah Ferguson has had her Freedom of the City of York removed by local councillors following a vote on Thursday evening, as scrutiny of her association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to grow.
Members of York council voted to withdraw the ceremonial honour from the former Duchess of York, who is mentioned on multiple occasions in files related to Epstein released by the US Department of Justice. Being named in those files does not imply wrongdoing.
Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019, had connections to a number of high-profile figures whose associations with him have come under renewed examination following the release of the DOJ documents.
The Freedom of the City is a ceremonial distinction awarded to notable individuals and carries no formal privileges, according to the council’s own website. Thursday’s vote strips Ferguson of that recognition.
The decision comes months after Ferguson also lost her Duchess of York title following the removal of royal titles from her former husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in October. Ferguson had already been using only her first and last name in a professional capacity prior to that point.
The council has not issued detailed public reasoning for the timing of the vote beyond the context of the mounting public discussion around the Epstein files and Ferguson’s appearance within them.
